Unofficial translation
Check against delivery
STATEMENT
BY SERGEY V. LAVROV,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,
AT THE 59TH SESSION OF THE U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
(New York, 23 September 2004)
I am addressing you today at a difficult time for our country, as people are still
mourning for their children and loved ones lost during the appalling terrorist attack in
the Russian town of Beslan. I would like to take this opportunity to express once
again my gratitude to all those who have shown their solidarity with Russia in those
tragic days. Our special thanks go to the States and international organizations that
have lent their helping hand to the victims of this outrage and their families.
I am also addressing you in a moment of truth, when nobody can raise any
doubt as to the true nature of international terrorism and the challenge it has posed to
the world community. With their attacks all over the world terrorists have opposed
themselves to the civilized world once and for all. In fact, having made massacres an
end in itself, they have knowingly violated every rule of human ethics.
Russia has drawn some harsh conclusions. They have been set forth in the
September 4 and September 13 addresses by President Vladimir V. Putin. We will not
let anybody encroach on the sovereignty of our State, we will resolutely strengthen
2
the unity of the country and its people in order to counter terror, to guarantee secure
and decent life to our citizens in freedom and democracy. The measures to achieve
these goals announced by the Russian President will be based on the country's
Constitution, and we will continue to defend our legitimate interests by means of
equitable dialogue, cooperation and partnership, rather than by means of
confrontation. In this regard, readiness for honest cooperation in fighting terror with
no double standards has become a key criterion of our relations with any State.
We must enter a crucially new stage in the activities of the anti-terrorist
coalition. The meeting of the U.N. Security Council of September 1 demonstrated a
strong determination of the world community to continue its fight against terrorism in
a consistent way. It is important now to translate this commitment into practical
actions as soon as possible.
In three years that have passed since the terrorist attacks in New York City and
Washington, a lot has been done to develop a workable partnership in this area.
However, little has been done compared to the scale of the threat. It is important to
learn lessons from the experience gathered and make conclusions for the future.
First. The global nature of the terrorist threat testifies that security in today's
world is indivisible. Consequently, we must bear collective responsibility for making
the world secure. The fight against terrorism should unite States rather than oppose
them to each other. We can deal with this evil on a multilateral basis only by
consolidating our efforts and acting in the spirit of solidarity. As far as our country is
concerned, President Vladimir V. Putin said that Russia regards the strengthening of
the anti-terrorist coalition as one of the most important tasks.
A special emphasis should be placed on intensifying interaction between
special services, which, we believe, should reach a crucially new stage in terms of
credibility and coordination.
3
Second. A clear strategy and a generally acceptable legal framework are the
prerequisites for success in combating terrorism. This framework has been laid down
in Resolution 1373 of the Security Council and its subsequent decisions. However,
additional efforts are needed at this point. They include making necessary
amendments to the national legislation, acceding to international anti-terrorist
conventions and finalizing new international legal counter-terrorism instruments.
In the circumstances, when international terrorism launched war on our entire
civilization, a particular focus is placed on the determination of States to use their
right for self-defense in conformity with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.
International law is clearly not an inalterable dogma. The fight against
terrorism calls for its development and improvement.
Third. The time has come to renounce double standards once and for all when
it comes to terror no matter what slogans it uses. Those who slaughtered children in
Beslan and hijacked the planes to attack the U.S. are creatures of the same breed.
Harboring terrorists, their connivers and sponsors undermines the unity and
mutual trust among participants in the anti-terrorist front, justifies actions of terrorists
and actually encourages them to commit the same crimes in other countries. I would
like to remind you that the U.N. decisions oblige the States granting political asylum
to examine personal records of every individual to make sure he/she has no links to
terrorists. Attempts to use the fight against terrorism in various geopolitical games are
all the more counterproductive and risky.
Fourth. The atrocity of the recent terrorist attacks proves the need to ensure
reliable safeguards against terrorists gaining access to the weapons of mass
destruction. Russia is prepared to the closest international partnership in this area. Our
country became one of the sponsors of Security Council Resolution 1540, takes part
in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and co-sponsors the G8 Action Plan on
Non-Proliferation. These initiatives are complementary and should increase the
4
effectiveness of the WMD non-proliferation regimes, which seems to be especially
relevant on the eve of the 2005 NPT Review Conference.
Fifth. Terrorism increasingly interweaves with drug trafficking. The drug flow
from Afghanistan has acquired a global significance. The implementation of a set of
social, economic and law-enforcement measures within and outside the country
becomes more urgent than ever. One of the key elements of this strategy lies in
strengthening the existing anti-drug "security belts" and creating new ones. Russia
makes a considerable contribution to solving the drug problem, including through the
elaboration of specific legal, political and operational measures within the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. We are
ready to coordinate actions with the ISA government, multinational and coalition
forces of the country.
Sixth. International terrorists have neither nationality nor religion. On the
contrary, it is religion and national culture that require utmost protection today against
the destructive effect of any kind of extremism. To do it, we need a considerate
dialogue between different confessions and civilizations. Russia that is open both to
the West and the East is ready to play its part in this process intended to prevent
civilization split.
Another pressing task is the saving of monuments of spiritual and material
culture from terrorist impingement. We deem it essential to develop cooperation in
this area between the United Nations and its specialized agencies, primarily
UNESCO. Failing to act as well as tacitly observing the desecration of memorials to
World War II heroes and victims and attempts to exculpate fascists can only play into
the hands of those who seek to incite extremist sentiment in society.
Seventh. Russia believes that the United Nations should continue to play a
central role in uniting efforts of the international community in its fight against
terrorism. As Chair of the Counter-Terrorism committee, our country intends to
5
actively contribute to speeding up its reform.
We suggest that a new UNSC resolution be worked out to ensure the most
effective functioning of the CTC, early identification of weak links in the antiterrorism network and increased practical cooperation between the CTC and
international and regional organizations, including the CIS, CSTO and SCO.
The Commonwealth of Independent States Summit that was held recently in
Astana confirmed a high potential of regional structures within the CIS in every area,
from anti-terrorist activities and collective security to reinforcing economic
integration.
Certainly, in the increasingly interdependent world counter-terrorism efforts
can only be considered in the context of other pressing issues facing the world. This is
especially relevant to the settlement of conflicts, which have been destabilizing the
situation at the regional and global levels for decades. The General Assembly should,
through its decisions, contribute to the Middle East settlement on the basis of
commitments by the parties under the "road map". Such progress is a prerequisite for
the development of an extensive and equal partnership in order to assist the Middle
East countries in making the necessary transformations, in particular within the
framework of cooperation between these countries and G8.
The situation in Iraq is a cause of serious concern. Russia is willing to support
in every way possible the process of political settlement aimed at preserving the
territorial integrity, ensuring political sovereignty and genuinely democratic postwar
recovery of Iraq. To search for national reconciliation in Iraq is of utmost importance
and an international conference, which would bring together all the major Iraqi
political forces, neighboring countries, members of the Security Council and the Arab
League could help the Iraqis in this regard.
We cannot lose sight of such a dangerous hotspot of tension as Kosovo. There
should be no room for complacency here. We need to make efforts to ensure that the
6
universally recognized standards of human rights and rights of national minorities be
applied in the region as well as to prevent its transformation into a hotbed of terrorism
and drug trafficking in the very heart of Europe.
We also need to make a full use of the existing mechanisms of conflict
settlement in the CIS area.
Consolidating peacemaking capacity of the international community is crucial
for overcoming regional crises. Collective response to humanitarian crises, in
particular those on the African continent, in total compliance with the U.N. Charter
and in the spirit of partnership with the regional structures leaves no doubt that the
U.N. Charter remains a universal basis for the effective solution of such problems.
The U.N. should equally give close attention to other global threats to security
and sustainable development.
This concerns the eradication of poverty and illiteracy as a breeding ground for
extremism. Annually our country grants one thousand scholarships to African
students. Russia contributed USD 7.5 mln to the fund for combating HIV/AIDS and
provided humanitarian assistance to some African countries on the bilateral basis.
This also concerns the search for ways to bridge the gap between poor and rich
States. Russia makes its contribution here, and in the period of 1998 to 2002 it wrote
off the debt of African countries worth USD 11.2 bn.
It also includes maintaining environmental security, and I would therefore like
to confirm that in accordance with the decision of President Vladimir V. Putin we are
seriously considering the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
And one of our tasks is to prevent outer space from becoming the scene of an
armed confrontation. Together with China we propose to conclude a comprehensive
agreement to this end and call upon all the countries with a space capability to join
this initiative. Furthermore, a need is arising to elaborate a U.N. convention on
international outer space law.
7
This includes the fight against gross and massive violations of human rights,
ensuring security and dignity of an individual. The United Nations, OSCE, the
Council of Europe and other organizations should not look indifferently at the
situation in some countries where a considerable part of population is deprived of
citizenship and, consequently, of basic political, social and economic rights.
On Russia's initiative, the U.N. General Assembly at its 57th and 58th sessions
adopted resolutions on the elaboration under the U.N. aegis of a global strategy to
counter new challenges and threats. They contained specific guidelines for bringing
the international community closer to a new security model that would reflect the
nature of global challenges of the 21st century.
It is in this direction that the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and
Change established by the Secretary-General organizes its work. We expect that its
recommendations will pave the way for a true increase in the U.N. efficiency. At the
same time, the reform of the Organization, and particularly that of the Security
Council, should be based on the broadest possible consensus and should not provoke
the alienation of States.
The world community goes through a difficult period of establishing a new
system of international relations. It is already clear that this is a long-term process
with uncertain and hardly foreseeable consequences. At the same time, unsolved
problems and new dangerous challenges to the security and development of mankind
are growing in number. We still lack a collective strategy and generally applicable
mechanisms for responding to these challenges. In fact, we have to constantly
improvise and use makeshift means to ensure world stability. A question arises as to
whether we could find ourselves, and rather soon, in a situation when events would
start to go beyond our control. Maybe it is time for the world community to assume an
active role in global processes and take targeted actions to establish a more secure and
just world order?
8
Russia is fully determined to build such a world order and take a proper place
in it as a free and democratic State.
More than half a century ago, the civilized world put aside all its disputes and
differences and mobilized its efforts to counter the deadly threat of Nazi enslavement.
The enemy that opposes us today is no less dangerous and merciless. Russia sincerely
hopes that the forthcoming 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the
establishment of the United Nations will become a historic milestone in moving ahead
to a world order that would make the 21st century an era of predominance of the lofty
principles of peace, stability and development underlying the U.N. Charter.